Scholarships

It's almost the end of the school year and although a lot of students are starting to feel relief that all their hard work has started to pay off, still one very important issue remains: paying for the next school year. Here in Austin there are several popular ways to get your money for nothing and your cheques for free or at least help you gain an education.

There's the ACC tuition installment plan, which has recently been given a face lift to now include the option of four payments (the previous plan had only three payments and required a larger initial deposit). This is definitely an option that can help make the cost of tuition and books more manageable.

There is also the old reliable FAFSA form which you can fill out online or in person which can help you gain access to various loans, grants and a shiny new ACC One Card. I have found the Financial Aid Department to be helpful with my numerous questions and concerns.

Then of course, there is one last method of paying for college that has proven successful and is yet under utilized, and no it's not pan-handling on I-35 (although that seems to work for some people). It seems as if the last resort among students searching for ways to afford college is to apply for scholarships.

Unfortunately, I don't think students take full advantage of scholarships here. Speaking from personal experience, I have noticed that there is a large tendency for people to overlook the scholarship option. I have been hesitant myself to file for scholarships. Usually this is because I think I would never win them and I am unsure of what exactly to write that would be suitable, but mainly because I never really took the time to educate myself on what scholarships were made available.

I was pretty surprised to see how available ACC is trying to make access to scholarships. ACC has prepared a small booklet of available scholarships and applications for the over 200 scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year that can be found in the financial aid office. This information can also be found online.

The Austin Community College Foundation, which was founded in 1991, can be credited with helping to increase the amount of funding made available to students. It would behoove students to take advantage of these resources instead of moaning about their lack of money.

According to Ann Schubert, ACC Foundation Operation Coordinator, ACC has scholarships available to different majors, single mothers, women who are returning to school, honor programs, and many general scholarships that are available to everyone. It would be beneficial for students to apply.

The deadline for most of these scholarships is June 1, so before you begin to relax and unwind from the school year you should probably go ahead and fill out an application. Barton Springs and the Alamo Draft house will still be there.